Here’s something to watch out for: Constellation automatically re-ups your contract when your present contract expires, no matter which plan you choose. It’ll send you two notifications prior to re-enrollment, but if you miss those prompts, you have just until the first meter read of your new contract to exit it. After that, the $150 termination fee will apply. Constellation Energy and Just Energy are the only two companies in our lineup with this policy. The others allow your service to lapse back to your utility company if you don’t personally re-enroll.

Around 85% of Texas residents must choose an electricity provider. Utility companies transmit and distribute electricity to customers. But that electricity doesn’t come from a utility—it comes from companies known as Retail Electric Providers. These providers offer competitive plans based on electricity pricing, term length, renewable sourcing and more.
Deregulation seeks to drive down costs and spur innovation by breaking up energy monopolies. In their place, two separate entities take care of 1) generation and 2) distribution. Electric Generation Suppliers (EGS) create electricity and set their own prices for consumers. Electric Distribution Companies (EDC), a.k.a., your local utility company, bring that electricity to your home.
Variable Rate: With a variable rate, you stand closer to the fire. Rather than keep your costs separate from market conditions, you experience the rise and fall of price alongside your provider. You profit when supply exceeds demand, but could pay through the nose if the electricity grid becomes overtaxed. That usually means a higher bill in the summer and winter (when demand is at its highest) and a lower one in the fall and spring. A variable rate plan is best for people interested in staying on top of market changes – when prices get too exorbitant, there’s no contract and no cancellation fee if you want to try a new provider.
From Spanish Mission to Art Deco, the city of Wichita Falls is full of historical building styles. It’s also full of residents, with more than 100,000 calling city limits home. If you’re a resident or business owner in Wichita Falls, electricity shopping can seem a bit tricky. To make it simpler, you need to understand that there are two popular types of energy rate structures: variable and fixed.

The Texas Senate Bill 7, passed in 2002, gave 5.6 million Texans the power to choose a retail electric provider (REP) to supply electricity to their home or business. This bill facilitated a competitive energy marketplace that 85 percent of Texans can capitalize on today. Energy choice is available to residents in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth as well as other cities in Texas.

Electricity providers are companies that purchase wholesale electricity from electricity generators and sell it at a retail level to the general public. They are also responsible for having that electricity delivered to the appropriate local utility company that serves their customers. State’s label electricity providers with different names such as, REPs (Retail Electric Providers), CRES (Competitive Retail Electric Service providers), or licensed electric suppliers, to name a few.
However, a few of the countries on the chart do have pricey electricity. Nuclear power accounts for close to three-quarters of France’s energy, and yet its electricity is on average $0.07 cents per kWh more expensive than that of the U.S. Again, diversification is key. Germany, which already has costly electricity, will soon see its prices soar even higher once it decommissions its nine currently operating nuclear plants, a gargantuan, politically motivated project that’s scheduled to be completed by 2022.

From Spanish Mission to Art Deco, the city of Wichita Falls is full of historical building styles. It’s also full of residents, with more than 100,000 calling city limits home. If you’re a resident or business owner in Wichita Falls, electricity shopping can seem a bit tricky. To make it simpler, you need to understand that there are two popular types of energy rate structures: variable and fixed.

The North Texas city of Wichita Falls is home to Midwestern State University, Sheppard Air Force Base, Lake Wichita and the power to choose. Texas residents who call the city home are able to shop for their electricity in Wichita Falls, meaning that they get to choose the energy plan they want from available retailers. Remember to explore all your options. If you need help deciding on an electric supply plan, call ChooseTexasPower.org.

You can sort, filter, and shop by pricing at YOUR specific usage level, which lets you shop and compare electricity plans based on the rates you’ll actually experience on your bill, inclusive of hidden fees and taxes. This ensures you’re not misled by the cheaper rates often advertised by electric providers…those “teaser rates” associated with higher usage levels that many households never enjoy because their usage level never reaches that pricing tier.
If you would rather have a steady rate and not think about twice about starting a load of laundry at 6:30pm versus 7:30pm, Direct Energy’s standard, 12-month, fixed-rate plan Live Brighter runs at an affordable 7.99 cents per kWh. Again, using 1,000 kWh per month would add up to a yearly total of $958.80 — higher than both Free Nights and Free Weekends, but also a lot simpler.
Over a year, you could save nearly $100 by choosing the green plan. But it’s important to note that Constellation’s attractive initial rates will very likely not be around for a second year. According to the customer reviews on Consumer Affairs, this new contract usually jacks up the price. It offers great rates for new customers, but it may not be worth it to stick with them for more than an initial contract.

Every state that is deregulated requires their electricity providers to be licensed or certified by the state in order to sell electricity. Your state’s public utility commission website keeps an up to date list of these electricity providers so that you can be certain that you are purchasing electricity from an authorized electricity provider. All of the electricity providers represented on ElectricityPlans.com are authorized electricity providers in the respective states where they do business.

The main difference between a provider and TDSP is that a TDSP is in charge of delivering electricity supply to a consumer's home or business. Contact your local TDSP for emergency situations such as hazardous electrical wires, storm alerts and power outages. Also, AEP offers McAllen residents and business owners with storm safety tips and service request information. Contact the TDSP at 1-877-373-4858 for electrical safety issues and 1-866-223-8508 for outage emergencies.
In some states, utilities can also generate and sell electricity, but customers aren’t forced to buy the electricity from the utility company. They may choose from either the utility or available electricity providers. Before signing up for electricity service, we recommend checking the local utility’s electricity supply rate by checking their rates online or contacting them directly.
Aided by the fact that the Evergreen State doesn’t collect a corporate income tax, cheap power has attracted industries that tend to consume biblical amounts of electricity, from aircraft production to software development to aluminum refining. Major companies in these spaces that are either headquartered or maintain a significant presence in the state include Microsoft , Amazon.com , Expedia .com and Boeing.

If you’re on a fixed rate tariff with your current supplier, check to see if there’s an exit fee for leaving the contract early. If there is, you’ll need to factor this cost into your price comparison as it could swallow up some of the potential savings. If you can supply your tariff name when you get a quote, we can take your tariff into account when showing you the savings you could make.